In Pictures: Manhattan

For this week's In Pictures we go back again to New York, probably my most favorite metropolis. I love New York so much I've visited it thrice since 2010.

The Art Deco Chrysler Building

On my first two times in the city I stayed near the upper east side and I've explored mostly midtown and and the upper Manhattan area, mostly around Central Park and the Museum Mile.

The Statue of Atlas in Rockefeller Center

This year I stayed in a hostel in Chelsea, just near the new New York headquarters of Google, and I was able to explore the downtown area, taking the A train to Wall Street , One World Trade Center, St. Paul's Church and Ground Zero. I also stumbled upon a small park called Zuccotti Park. This small park is where the anti-bank, anti-consumerism movement called Occupy Wall Street began.

Zuccotti Park

There is a rather interesting piece of steel sculture in this park, called Joie de Vivre, the bright red contrasting against the gray steel and concrete jungle that surrounds it.

Buskers in the park

Milling around the park is a group of buskers, the members of which are entertaining the crowd that stopped to watch them with acts like somersaults and comedic acts. The culmination of their act, of course, is to collect money from the crowd. I was entertained watching them, so I gave them a dollar or two when they passed the hat to me

A homeless man in Wall Street

Of course I alway go back to midtown (Manhattan is generally divided into upper, mid and downtown, the labels referring to geographic location, so downtown is really "down" or at lower part of the island). I always thought that most of the action and the bustle are in the area around the middle part. Downtown for me is mostly populated with hedge fund people, and I have this image of the upper east and west side as mostly the trust fun set.

Bryant Park

New York has a lot of pocket parks where you can take a breather when you get tired walking around the city. Bryant Park, located between 40th and 42nd streets, is one of those small parks. There's a lawn area, and there are coffee tables and seats around it where you can sit back, sip your coffee and watch the world (at least New York) go by.

New York Public Library

There are lots of interesting architecture here too. Nearby is the New York Public Library, and across the road is the steel and glass Bank of America Tower.

MetLife Building

Just further east is the MetLife Building, the former headquarters of Pan Am airlines, done in International Style, and the Beaux-Arts Grand Central Terminal.

Philippine consulate in Fifth Avenue

On my way to see St. Patrick's Cathedral I noticed this for the first time: the Philippine consulate in Fifth Avenue. The Philippine Center building, built in 1912 by the architects that constructed the New York Public Library, but was remodeled in 1974 to a distinctive Brutalist "Maharlika" motiff of the Marcos era, much to the chagrin of architecture preservationists [1]. As I passed by it I noticed that LCD screens were playing the It's More Fun in the Philippines ads of the Department of Tourism, and a few people stopped to take pictures of them.

After visiting the Cathedral and the Abercrombie and Fitch store in Fifth Avenue, I doubled back and passed through Rockefeller Center, then found my way again to be with the crowds of Times Square, the crossroads of the world. I sat down on the red steps, and let the city soak in me, under the bright flashing lights of electronic signboards above.

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